Arrests at peaceful protest brings awareness to cause

Getting arrested wasn’t the intent but it has brought attention to the fight against fracking on the Blood First Nation.

“It felt horrible to be arrested for something I feel I was doing the right thing. We were there for the right reasons. It’s a terrible feeling to know that our own government and our own Chief and council are not keeping tribal members’ best interest in our health a top priority,” said Elle-Maija Tailfeathers.

Tailfeathers, Lois Frank and Jill Crop Eared Wolf were arrested on Sept. 9, while blocking the entry and departure of trucks to the Murphy Oil well site on the Blood First Nation. They spent 10 hours in jail on the First Nation. At the eight-hour mark, they had a teleconference call with a justice of the peace before eventually being released. The three women were charged under the Criminal Code with intimidation. They will appear in court on Oct. 17 in Cardston.

Frank said when it became clear that arrests were inevitable, she and the other two women stepped forward. There were Elders, parents with children, and young people involved in the demonstration undertaken by the Kainai Earth Watch and Frank said she didn’t want to see them hauled away.

“A lot of people are making it about the arrest and the charges,” said Frank, “but … the issue is bigger.”

First Nations across the province are facing a large amount of oil and gas exploration on their lands. As part of that process, hydro fracking is occurring. Hydro fracking is a process in which chemicals and water are used at extreme force to shatter underground rock formations, allowing the clearer withdrawal of oil and gas from the ground.

Tailfeathers said her mother, Dr. Esther Tailfeathers, a physician on the First Nation, asked both Murphy Oil and Bowood Energy, the two companies that struck agreements with Kainaiwa Resources Inc., the band’s energy arm, for the list of chemicals that are being used as part of the fracking process and which are being transported across the reserve to drilling sites. Tailfeathers said her mother is still waiting for that list. The agreement between the oil companies and Blood chief and council has opened approximately 130,000 acres to the two oil companies to explore for oil and gas over the next five years.

Another point of contention, said Frank, is that agreements were signed without Blood membership being allowed to speak out and without a referendum. Membership was also not informed of health and environmental consequences. Focus was kept on the $1,100 payout each member would receive from the agreement.

“Our leaders are selling us out all over North America,” said Frank. “There’s a growing movement all across the world. The earth is a living organism. It has rights. We need to protect it.”

The movement to protect Blood land has grown beyond Kainai Earth Watch, which has members both on and off-reserve, and the website, Protectbloodland.ca created by Tailfeathers. Nearly two weeks after the women were arrested, the Council of Canadians held a support rally for the cause in Lethbridge, a solidarity protest held in conjunction with the protest on Parliament Hill on Sept. 26. International response and support for the Kainai Earth Watch has also been received.

“(Our arrests) have been a good thing for bringing awareness to the cause. But obviously our intention that day wasn’t to get arrested,” said Tailfeathers.

Blood Chief Charles Weasel Head did not respond to a request for an interview from Sweetgrass.